big in Japan...

A good friend of mine is in Japan... and I'm jealous of him!! But him being there brought back so many memories to me... I've always been fascinated by this country, partly because its history goes way back (further back perhaps than that of my own) and partly because its culture is so absolutely different than the one I come from... or perhaps because I was very young when "Shogun", that TV series from the 80's, was on and I got charmed by those images of the geishas and the tea ceremony and the katanas and all... I don't know and I don't care... The important is that when I visited the far east a couple of years ago, I fell in love with it :)

That trip, I can tell you, cost me a lot of pairs of shoes... but it was money worth spent, every cent of it! And I cannot wait for the day that I will go back there and though it is a big world and there are so many places that I want to see, Japan stays at the top of my list!

When I was there, the most beautiful place I visited was a garden... not a very big one and I guess not a very famous one either because there were not that many visitors... a garden in the heart of Tokyo, a stone's through from Ropongi Hills for those who have been there, surrounded by sky-scrapers and the faint sound of the city noises...

When one passes the gate and enters the garden, it's like what has been described to me as entering Eden... and if Eden does exist (and I do not have any proof of that, obviously...) I bet it would look like that garden... the peace and the quiet and the smells of spring (I was a lucky visitor...) and the sounds of the birds and the images of the trees and the ponds and the magnificent koi carp swimming in the water and coming out to greet the people who would take a moment to tell them "konitchiwa" was an experience I will never forget!!

I bought my bento box of sushi from the food plaza of the nearby office building and got into the garden... sat on a bench under a tree and had my lunch... then took a walk in the garden, to discover every corner of it... and then got back to "my" bench and... I had a nap... and that whole experience was better that any shoe I ever wore or coveted and would always be preferred over any, and I repeat ANY, foot treasure I could be offered :)

I don't know how to end this piece of text, I guess suggesting you visit Japan and my dream garden is too obvious and expected... so I won't... I will just post a picture of it for you...

Sunday afternoon...

I adore Sundays... but only until the evening... then I get the blues and I feel again like when I was a child and Sunday evening would come and eventually the music of the opening credits of that sports show on TV would be heard... and for all the kids of my generation that marked the end of the weekend and the beginning of the new school week ... and I can assure you that even today, whenever I hear that particular music I get the blues... and not just me, as I said, a whole generation :)

But, those Sunday afternoons... when there is nothing to be done or, to be more honest, there is nothing that will be done no matter how necessary or urgent (like the laundry for example...) might be, with one leg on top of the other, laying comfortably on the sofa, preferably cuddled next to a loving partner or together with a good friend and watching a film... ahhhh, very few things can compete with that!

Yesterday, I had one of those... although I had promised to myself to go to the shops to try and find a pair of mid-heel pumps that would combine with my new black pencil skirt, and already having my eye set on Italian leather... I did not move out of the house! Which basically proves my point that a lazy, comfy, film-watching on a Sunday afternoon is, indeed, better than shoes!

Now, to tell you the truth, I do plan to go out and get those pumps next Saturday... Since, in this case, it is not really a matter of one or the other... But, yesterday, I did chose to stay home and relax and enjoy the "doing nothing" instead of a new pair of shoes... :)

a sofa and a blanket...

Autumn is a depressing season... even if one is the most cheerful person in the world, assuming that one knows the whole world to verify this, November comes with the rain and the cold and the darkness and it just gets to you. The memories of the summer are still in our minds and the comparison with the "now" is unavoidable... the "now" loosing miserably in the comparison... and the Christmas season has not started just yet to cheer us up... Even the excitement of the new season's shoe collections cannot take away the blues that the weather brings... or at least not completely ;)

How does one survive this time of the year? Well, this way or the other we all know that Autumn is bound to come to an end, soon the Winter will meet us and then the Spring and then again the Summer... So we know, to begin with, that this is only a temporary depression... Does that help? Not really, no... Does a shopping spree help? Well, yes and no... Surely a new pair of Lanvin's patent leather ballerinas can bring a smile on a girls face and a pair of Ugg boots in a new colour can maintain it there longer but... is that all?

I found another trick... Instead of cursing the rain and the darkness and the cold, all those elements that make me want to hide in my home while cursing all the way through April , I embrace them! I run home after work, put on my pajamas, make a hot tea and sink in the sofa... to complete the pleasure, I cover myself up in a fluffy, wool blanket... ahhhhh, like this I can just watch cooking programs on TV and then the quizzes and the news... Before I know it, it's time for dinner! And, yes, I do now that this is very close to the definition of a "couch potato", but this is a desperate time calling for desperate measures!

Now, to make things clear... it's obviously NOT Autumn that is better than shoes... and not the "couch potato" status... but this feeling of a comfy sofa and a soft blanket while outside the rain falls, is a good one! And at times, better than shoes... So, when you have tried it all and have topped that credit card to the limit (making it unusable for the next 6 months at least) with numerous bills of foot candy, try my trick. Perhaps you will discover a new little pleasure in life...

ps. do not forget the tea... it's essential ;)